The South East of England is a rubbish place to live.....if you have wings or fins!

With small Hovercraft now readily available at the price of a small boat or jetski, the 'Bear Grylls' types amongst our customers have started to use their hovercraft to catch their own dinner.

With it's ability to access prime wildfowling areas and rich fishing spots, hovercraft allow the caveman to get to places nobody else can. Earlier this year, we sold a hovercraft to a client in Australia, who used it to access his favourite fishing hole at 'Dirty Creek' - previously an 8 hour hike through shallows and sandbars where no boat could go. Armed with his new Marlin, he was Fishing within an hour of launching and by the time his mates arrived, he was on the way home with all the big ones!

Meanwhile, down here in Kent, UK - Phil & Dave use their hovercraft most weekends to shoot and fish in the River Medway. Phil's Labrador even rides with him (wearing doggy ear defenders!) and goes to work when they arrive! Trips are pretty lucrative - as you can see!

It's been a pretty good year for UK cruising, with some really successful events and lots of new folks joining in the fun. Next year, the plan is for more of the same, some new venues and a couple of new events which may add to the fun.

On behalf of the Hovercraft Club of Great Britain, what we'd like to do is to add some competitive aspects into overall cruising events for those that enjoy a challenge. Challenge complete, the events will all comprise a decent cruise as well. This is an addition to - not a substitute for - cruising events. A number of new members who have taken an active part in the cruises this year have indicated they'd enjoy some competitive events - so I thought we'd kick it off in Spring next year and see how it's received.

Event One will be a 'Circuit of Sheppey' timed event. In the best traditions of rallying, there will be a passing resemblance to a 'road section' where a speed restriction will apply. In all, it's aroun...

d a 26 mile trip through some varied terrain with a couple of control points to ensure safety.

Event two - I'm in negotiations to make a return to a venue we previously used which is a fantastic cruising site and makes for a great weekend's activity. It's ideal for a mud-race and the idea seems to have grabbed hold of the local tourism people. For those that haven't seen or competed in a mud race, it comprises a (usually) one hour race over arising or falling tide. Long laps mean the track changes all the time with gullies or obstacles appearing that weren't there a lap ago! It favours a cautious approach to keep the skirt on the craft and not make a silly mistake and it's truly insane amounts of fun - the ultimate test of craft and driver and there's plenty of craft out there at the moment suitable for this type of event.

Basically, it's real racing, none of your poncy grassy field stuff!

If these two catch the imagination and get decent attendances, we'll see about adding some more in.

If you think you might be interested in this type of event, drop me an email to russ@flyingfishhovercraft.co.uk so I can gauge interest - no commitment, just an expression of interest!

With clarification from the MCA that hovercraft working on inland waterways and lakes are not required to be coded, the door is now open for hovercraft to be supplied into numerous commercial operations such as weed spraying, survey, bird counts, waters sampling a dozens of other uses. Whilst there are still safety requirements, there's many less obstructions in the way of inland commercial operations now!

“In order to carry out detailed survey measurements of the river wall, flying fish’s hovercraft was invaluable in manoeuvring the surveyors and equipment across the creek and silt, within the limited timeframes between high tides. Chris Edge, Director, Glanville Consultants”Video of the job can be found HEREThe Marlin II and Coastal-Pro represent the ideal small hovercraft for inland operations. Featuring just one engine means they are very simple to drive, economical and very reliable. Their relatively low noise levels mean little disturbance is caused. Best of all, prices are from just £8,500.00+VAT and we have craft in stock for immediate delivery.

Meanwhile, our ongoing proposal and negotiations with the MCA over coding for small hovercraft have also started to gather momentum, with a meeting planned in the near future to find a way forward on the basis of an 'Industry Voluntary Code of Conduct (IVCC.) This is a hugely exciting prospect for us, as we receive enquires every day for craft to operate in a commercial role on estuaries, mudflats and intertidal areas. Currently, it's not viable for hovercraft to comply with the requirements of the Small Workboat Code, so these come to nothing - going into next year, we're confident that the MCA will have found a way to operate small hovercraft in a commercial role without any compromise in safety standards.

We'll aim to keep you up to date with the changes in legislation as they happen.

The price of Flying Fish Hovercraft is set to increase from November 1st 2012. We’ve had to make these increases due to the increasing cost of parts and materials and have kept them to the absolute minimum to ensure our customers still get the best value small hovercraft available.

Current pricing below (ex VAT) will apply on all orders received before October 31st, with deposits paid.

Marlin II Freestyle £7,950.00

Marlin II Extreme £9,950.00

Coastal-Pro £13,500.00

From November 1st 2012, prices are as follows (ex VAT).

Marlin II Freestyle £8500.00

Marlin II Extreme £10700.00

Coastal-Pro £14500.00

So – to get the best possible price on your new Flying Fish hovercraft, make sure you get your order in before October 31st!